The block of iceberg that has been threatening to split from its much larger piece for years has finally done so. In the Antarctic.

Six thousand square kilometers. I tried to transfer the number into miles. I could not, even after googling the problem. The best description as to size is that it is half the size of Wales.

The block took 10 years to finally split off.

The immediate concern is that the iceberg will float into the North Atlantic and become a hazard to shipping. Long term, contributing to rising ocean levels as it melts.

Worked on my podcast yesterday afternoon. Fine tuned it for presentation last night on Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Two particularly interesting topics concerned the Trump family and Somali-Sudan immigration into Europe.

Lying seems to run in the Trump family. Sad. The fruit does not fall far from the tree. The children grew up in their father’s shadow. They learned from him. Many things learned not nice.

We have seen the disaster which arose from Syrians fleeing their country. Hordes of immigrants. Europe overwhelmed.

It’s coming again. This time from Africa. Somali and Sudan. Projected it will be in the millions over the next five years. Many more persons than escaped Syria. War, famine, etc. the reasons.

Snuck out for a quick dinner at Hogfish before the show. Enjoyed pieces of battered fried fish.

Hogfish quiet. Off season obvious. Bar only half full.

Drinking water from the sea. A dream of man for years. Came to fruition in a small way this date in 1966 in the Keys. On Stock Island. Construction began. A desalinization plant. Perhaps the largest in the world at the time.

The plant was dedicated in 1967. A big deal. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended.

The plant converted seawater to fresh water. 2.62 million gallons per day. The plant was considered a marvel of technology. Now under supervision of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, the plant is being expanded to produce 4 million gallons a day.

I do not like war profiteers nor do I like private armies. The United States has been engaged with both for years.

The privatizing of a portion of our wars began in big style under Bush 2. He did not want the citizens of the U.S. seeing large numbers of death bags nor did he want the people of the U.S. to know the true number of war dead and wounded.

Privateers are a world unto themselves. They hire, pay and train those willing to serve. To fight and die, to provide peripheral services.

Obama used privatized servicemen also.

Trump may. Probably will.

It was announced July 10 that Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner had met with the CEO’s of Blackwater and DynCorp International. The largest private army owners in the world. To discuss hiring the companies to aid U.S. in war planning.

“War planning” bothered me. What are our generals for?

These companies make money by contracting out personnel to fight. No wars, no profit. No need for the private contractors.

Trump’s concern is the Afghanistan War now in its 16th year. Trump has been indicating an increase in troops is required.

Since Trump wants to privatize everything, it is not surprising he had Bannon and Kushner sit down with these guys.

Not healthy. Not a money saver. Does not provide for direct U.S. supervision. It is like operating in a black hole. No one knows what is going on, except for the war profiteers themselves.

And, sorry, but I can’t resist. No one is concerned about an iceberg drifting from Antartica, at the South Pole, about 7,000 miles to the North Atlantic and disrupting shipping. The concern is the iceberg drifting into the Drake Passage between Cape Horn, off the Southern tip of Africa, and the South Shetland Islands. That’s a major international shipping route. Sometimes I sincerely question the “research” you seem to spend so much time conducting. Again, you’re better than that, Louis.

“The immediate concern is that the iceberg will float into the North Atlantic and become a hazard to shipping. Long term, contributing to rising ocean levels as it melts.”

As this iceberg, as massive as it is, was already floating on the ocean its melting does not add to sea level rise due to weight displacement. However, the majority of the remaining masses of ice are on the actual land mass of Antarctica and not floating and if they slide into the ocean as feared, sea level will rise dramatically. The calving of the floating ice therefore starts leaving the land-based ice exposed and the next in line to enter the ocean.

So in this case, the warming of the climate in this region is currently indirectly affecting sea level but soon will so so directly and with serious consequences. Especially for low-lying coastal areas such as Flordia and the Keys and the Caribbean.

Arctic ice is all floating so although it is melting away and making the area accessible to shipping and oil exploration, it adds nothing to sea level rise. It is in the Antarctic where 70% of the world’s freshwater is frozen that sea level catastrophe will come from.

Not to worry. ‘Scientists’ claim the earths 6th mass extinction is under way and there is nothing to be done. So the angry old white guys will be killed off. I’m thinking these same ‘scientists’ said the coastal cities would already be under water.

Seems funny that Canada’s recent expedition to research the disappearance of arctic ice had to turn back and cancel the trip due to too much ice. Turns out it is 30-40ft thicker than they thought and increasing faster than any time in recorded history.

Climate changes, it has too, thats its job. Its been happening since the Big Bang and will continue to do so. Mother Nature can be a bitch and she doesn’t care about flawed computer program predictions.

Hmmm, not sure where your tale about too much ice stopping a Canadian expedition popped up on. Perhaps you refer to the fact that the Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen canceled the first leg of the 2017 Expedition due to complications associated with the southward motion of hazardous Arctic sea ice, caused by climate change? The sea ice has broken-up and created hazards, not thickened.

I also assume that your term ‘Scientists’ refers to the 97% of peer-reviewed scientific studies done on the subject? Oddly enough, you can check the studies and supporting organizations (hint ALL major scientific organizations) on the NASA climate change page. Apparently, the Trumpster has not yet found this website to close it down and replace it with a smiling snowman picture so all his voters can feel good and know everything is fine.

Just because you believe climate change is not happening and can ignore the reams of evidence doesn’t mean it is not. You and I are no experts in climatology. I therefore, defer to the research of the experts just as I would want a brain surgeon for brain surgery and not a florist. As you choose to live on a small patch of land barely above sea level I would be concerned for future property values. Few people want a house or condo permanently underwater.

Yoru comment that coastal cities would now be underwater is erroneous. Where do you get your ‘information?’ I would do a little more in-depth research on that topic as you do live on the coast.

Where’d you get your PhD in climate science from, Doctor? Do you also think vaccinations cause autism and Jews buried fossils to confound Christians? Seriously though, the entirety of the scientific community has reached a consensus here, as have most of the governments in the world, including China and North Korea. How is it you’re so confident in something I’d guess you have a superficial, at best, knowledge of? Of course climate changes, but you honestly don’t believe that the evolution of homo sapiens, the development of agrarian culture, then the rapid of expansion of human population, then the development of industry, which happened in the blink of an eye relative to the timeline of the universe, could in no way exacerbate or speed up larger machinations? Yours is very much a fringe opinion. You continuously prove that you shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Indeed and the evidence is irrefutable but one can always pretend it isn’t happening as many Germans did during the Holocaust. This way we can continue to live our lives as normal and forget the impact it will have on the future.

Jeez Patrick – all of the literature I read, and there’s lot’s of it (weather°com, ecowatch.com° newsweekly.°com, and several others), all say that the recent Canadian expedition was reduced do to too much ice caused by “Warming temperatures made sea ice in the High Arctic thinner and more likely to move freely in ocean currents, especially when pushed around by storms and high winds.” making things too dangerous to proceed. Why do you find that funny?

It seems to me they found the “disappearance of arctic ice” just in a difference place and in a different format. I don’t find that funny. Nor do I think your “nuanced” spin on the issue that “funny” either.

This is serious stuff we and we need to be concerned. It’s not one of those “oh-well” situations we should ignore with partisan platitudes and clever spins.

Wow… Lou… Buddy… seems you stirred up a hornets nest. I came here to post something on the square miles of the iceberg and discovered the fervor of Scopes trial and questioning of scientific inquiry going on. Who knew.

Of course I’m sure it’s all just fake news. Remember the movie (or maybe a joke) about someone was going to tow an iceberg to feed the starving people in China… or something like that. Well, this is it. Some business man has devised a scheme to bring the iceberg to Southern California and the Arizona deserts to cool down the area and make water for large farming operations in the up to now an arid area. By the way… I got my PHK from Rump University, so I know it’s true. Yeah… that’s the ticket.

By the way… the area of the iceberg (6000 sq kilometers) is about 2316 sq miles… or about 48 miles X 48 miles. OR… about 440 times the size of Key West.

I agree that this calving was not directly related to the rapidly changing climate. The issue is that when the land-based ice, which is by far the bulk of Antarctic ice continues to melt into the ocean and slide into the water sea levels will rise. Dramatically. The fossil record of earth is full of the effects of massive sea level changes over hundreds of millions of years. Man, however, is managing to conduct a similar massive sea level change in a blink of a geological eye that, when linked with “natural” climate variation due to the change in sun activity and earth’s tilt are combining to radically alter our planet’s climate in an exceptionally short period of time. One that is now and will in the future affect all our species and all other life on earth, ask the coral reefs how they are doing (if we could).

Patrick – if you are only interested in posting antagonistic, factually challengeable, or misleading missives, then please let me be the second person, after Lou, to ask you to stop posting replies to his blog. Only Lou can ask more than that. It is not your regular intellectually contorted opinions that I find so offensive, it is your apparent disregard for the truth in an effort to make just about any point. That and your total insensitivity to Lou, or the rest of us, while trying to push your agenda. A difference of opinion is one thing, but why would you want to stick around, posting replies, if all that will bring you is an argument and contempt? Something must be wrong with you. Maybe you should consider paying Lou for providing you a place some therapy!

I’m happy to hear that you have posted here from the beginning, please explain to us why that matters or how that gives you any rights of entitlement over truth? Or, for that matter, what that has to do with Lou’s postings? This isn’t YOUR personal blog!